The customer is Bridger Aerospace Group in Montana, US. The company became the launch customer for the Viking CL-415EAF program after signing a multiple aircraft purchase agreement.

The aircraft was the first Canadair CL-215 to undergo the Enhanced Aerial Firefighter modification and took its inaugural flight on 9 March.

Tim Sheehy, Founder and CEO of Bridger Aerospace Group, said: “Aggressive initial attack and advanced technology in support of the wildland firefighter are the core of Bridger’s ethos. The Viking CL-415EAF is the most capable initial attack asset on the planet and we are proud to be the launch customer for this incredible capability.”

Robert Mauracher, Executive Vice-President for Viking, added: “We are very excited and proud to be delivering our first Viking CL-415EAF Enhanced Aerial Firefighter to Bridger Aerospace in time for the 2020 North American wildfire season. The delivery of our first Enhanced Aerial Firefighter is the culmination of a multi-faceted collaborative project originally launched in 2018 and represents the solid partnership that has developed between Viking, LAS, and Bridger over the past 24 months. We are now looking forward to adding a second aircraft to their fleet in the coming months.”